It's a Bird...It's a Plane....

It's Superman Days!

Did you know that the town of Metropolis, IL celebrates "Superman Days?"  For the past 37 years, this small town has hosted a festival celebrating Superman and other superheroes. As you may know, our summer reading program theme is "Every Hero Has a Story." We're celebrating all kinds of superheroes this summer: animal superheroes (and their superhero human caretakers) and superheroes in our family, as well as superheroes in movies and books.

Your vacation plans might not include a stop in Metropolis, but you can celebrate your own Superman Days with some cool books and DVDs:

Finding books appropriate for little superhero fans is difficult. Comic books are too complicated, and even the easy readers can be too long for very young attention spans. Luckily, DC Comics has started a line of board books featuring their superheroes. Superman Colors and Superman to the Rescue have been extremely popular! (Yay!)

The life stories of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, are incredible and heartbreaking tales. I reviewed Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero way back in 2012. Pop-culture connoisseurs would love this fascinating adult nonfiction read about the ups and downs of Superman's legacy. Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster  is an adult nonfiction biography of Superman's creators (have not read it).  Young readers would enjoy Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman.

It really is a shame that Superman vs. the Ku Klux Klan: The True Story of How the Iconic Superhero Battled the Men of Hate has such a boring cover (it's a YA nonfiction title, too!). I also first reviewed this in 2012; it's a well-crafted look at a little-known aspect of Superman (radio) history.

Fallout is high on my list of books I want to read this summer.  This YA novel focusing on Lois Lane's high school years sounds like a super fun read! (If you're not a Superman fan, I doubt you've read this far, but just in case--Lois Lane is Superman's love interest.)

Of course, we also have the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve, as well as the memoirs he wrote after he became quadriplegic.

Today is our official kickoff of our summer reading program! We have many fun activities planned!

Jennifer Schultz, Youth Services Librarian, Fauquier County Public Library